Las Vegas, Rachel, and Nellis Range (Groom Lake / Area 51)

Area 51 is the most famous secret military base in the world. And I'm a sucker for a good story so while on a vacation in Las Vegas I made a day trip to Area 51, aka Groom Lake, Dreamland, Nellis Bombing Range.

It's about a 2.5 hour drive from Las Vegas. But if escaping the concrete jungle appeals to you this is a great drive. The scenery is amazing. Two bits of advice: get a fuel efficient car but one that also has some power (speed limit is 75 but passing heavy trucks is a necessity).

Area 51 has a very large border around it. But in front of the perimeter is mostly public land so you can drive right up the gates. You can even camp outside them. Just don't go into the perimeter or things can get very bad for you. I was content enough to approach only one of the gates in this trip. Maybe in future trips I'll check out the other accessible points. There are no signs that this is "Area 51". But the gates are marked as property of the US Air Force and from the number of television shows and Internet videos this was definitely the place. Who knows what really goes on there. The locals still report military air exercises on a daily basis. But what else are they going to say? Don't come to our tiny town and spend some money while you're here? Rachel, NV is not swimming in tourist revenue but it's carved out a niche thanks to its mysterious neighbor. I didn't go here to explore aliens or UFOs or government secret aircraft. I wanted to see if it really existed versus being overly dramatized on TV. And I saw it with my own eyes that this place really does exist.

I also took the opportunity for some other photography - landscapes, abandoned mines, ghost towns, and the Las Vegas skyline at sunset. Who says the Strip has to be your only destination?

Area 51. Back Gate.
After driving for 30 minutes on a gravel road at 30mph I was confronted with this. This is the gate behind Rachel, NV and known as the 'Back Gate'. It looks empty but there likely is security in those buildings. They must get more than a few idiots like me at their gates and only come out when necessary. It's considered bad form to photograph them anyway.

Area 51. Back Gate.
After driving for 30 minutes on a gravel road at 30mph I was confronted with this. This is the gate behind Rachel, NV and known as the 'Back Gate'. It looks empty but there likely is security in those buildings. They must get more than a few idiots like me at their gates and only come out when necessary. It's considered bad form to photograph them anyway.

Area 51. Back Gate.
This was as close as I dared go. The signs freaked me out, especially the one about 'no photography' and I completely forgot there are hundreds of pictures already on the web. I did remember that the local sherrif can detain me for 48 hours without charge. Anyway, the goal was to get here not to take a thousand photos. Note the camera pointed at me in the upper right.

JANET Aircraft Fleet. These planes take personnel from McCarran Airport in Las Vegas to Groom Lake, Tonopah Test Range, and other secure sites. The planes are operated by a civilian contractor for the Department of Defense which is why they don't have any markings except discreet civilian tail numbers. How are these two planes so close?!? This was taken from Terminal 1 A Gates on a Sunday.

JANET Aircraft Fleet. These planes take personnel from McCarran Airport in Las Vegas to Groom Lake, Tonopah Test Range, and other secure sites. The planes are operated by a civilian contractor for the Department of Defense which is why they don't have any markings except discreet civilian tail numbers. I didn't realize there was a fifth plane here until coming to this angle. This was taken from Terminal 1 A Gates on a Sunday.

JANET Aircraft Fleet. These planes take personnel from McCarran Airport in Las Vegas to Groom Lake, Tonopah Test Range, and other secure sites. The planes are operated by a civilian contractor for the Department of Defense which is why they don't have any markings except discreet civilian tail numbers. The JANET aviation terminal in the immediate background. This was taken from Terminal 1 A Gates on a Sunday.

JANET Aircraft Fleet. These planes take personnel from McCarran Airport in Las Vegas to Groom Lake, Tonopah Test Range, and other secure sites. The planes are operated by a civilian contractor for the Department of Defense which is why they don't have any markings except discreet civilian tail numbers. This was taken from Terminal 1 B Gates on a Sunday.